This disclosure relates in general to cloud-based computer processing and, but not by way of limitation, to controlling access to media assets (e.g., files) during streaming.
The delivery of media over networks, such as the Internet, can be accomplished in many ways, including progressive downloading or streaming. Streaming is often preferred to progressive downloading because it offers additional features such as content protection and the ability to seek to undownloaded parts of a media asset. The process of preparing a media asset for streaming typically involves “chunking” the asset, or dividing assets up into smaller segments for delivery.
While chunking may allow for streaming of media assets, authentication of whether a user account and/or a user device is authorized to access one or more media assets may be performed when the user device initially begins streaming the media asset. As such, at a later time, the same user account accessed from a different user device may be used to stream the same or a different media asset while the first user device is still receiving the first media asset. Therefore, rather than multiple users needing multiple user accounts, a single user account could, perhaps fraudulently, be used for access to media assets from multiple user devices. Such an arrangement may be a particular issue where a subscription (e.g., a monthly or yearly subscription) is required to access the media assets.